Wake Up
by sybilLloyd27
Summary: It's a big day! The boys are coming home from the Great War. Festivities are about to be on their way, and Kara is not up yet... Kara and Laura are step sisters, with Laura being about 8 years older. Set in New York in the Roaring 20s. TOTALLY AU! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW!
1. Time to Get Up!

Wake up, Kara. C'mon. Wake up! We gotta go c'mon.

Who the frak is waking me up this frakkin early? Gods dammit.

"Laura! What the hell? It's so frakkin early. The sun's not even out yet. Seriously…" I lied on my back, pulled my covers up over my head and groaned. She had all of the lights on in the room, including the dozen around her vanity mirror where she was looking into to put on her makeup. As usual.

"Kara, do what day this is?"

"A day where I have to dress up and look pretty to make you look good. As always."

"No! Gods dammit, Kara… Today is the day the guys get back! You know… from that mission they refused to tell us about. I can't wait to see Bill." She paused. I heard the smack of lips that told me she was putting on lip stick or something. I sighed, feeling the warmth of my breath on my skin under my sheets. I thought I heard the creak of her stool as I was faling back into a hopeful sleep.

"GODS DAMMIT LAURA! DO YOU HAVE THE AC ON OR SOMETHING? IT'S LIKE THE FRAKKIN NORTH POLE IN HERE."

"No, it's not. Calm the frak down. You need to get up. I cannot allow you to go out of the house looking like a schlub. C'mon. I already laid out you clothes for you. And your favorite boots." She sighed as she went back into the closet, probably looking for something for her to wear. Which will take about 3 hours…

"Dude," she popped her head out of the closet and looked at me with a death glare. A glare that would make anyone move faster than the speed of light. Even if she didn't have her glasses on. "Get up or I will pull you out of that bed by your toenails."

"Fine! I'm going, I'm going." Gods I hate her so much sometimes…


	2. The Parade

_**AN:**__ I hope you like the story thus far! I'm not sure exactly where I want this to go but the more and more I write, the clearer its ending becomes. Any ideas or thoughts you have will be wonderful to hear! Please leave a review!_

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><p>I'm not a flapper. But my sister is. And because of this, she was wearing this really tight and short cobalt blue dress and her dancing shoes with that weird black hat of hers. I on the other hand like wearing my pant suits with riding boots. Most people think I'm weird, and I am. I just like wearing clothes that are typically male over clothes that are typically female.<p>

"Kara!" My mother screams, "I am not letting go out like that!" She's drunk as always, and smoking.

"Socrata, it's ok. I told her it was ok," Laura coughed. "No one is really going to care."

"Mmm… Ok fine. But Laura, can you take her shopping and find her some more appropriate clothes?"

And with that, we left her in her drunken state laughing. She was the only one raising us though. My father left me and my mother, causing my mother to marry Mr. Roslin, Laura's father. Her mother died from cancer. Laura had two sisters, Cheryl and Sandra, as well. We all got along, and we were one gods-damned happy family, until Mr. Roslin and Laura's sisters got into a fatal car crash. That was when my mother started drinking. She was a life-long smoker, though, and became a sickly shade of pale after her second husband's death. She never went outside and, honestly, none of us wanted her to go outside. People would and will only see Laura and I. When people began asking where she was after Laura's father's death, we told her she was grieving and it was acceptable. But when the grieving period was over and people would ask where she was, we didn't say anything. A part of us wanted her to come out, a part of us didn't. It was better that we didn't and when we stopped answering the question, people stopped asking it. We haven't been to a family event in years. We've been taking care of ourselves. Well, until Mr. Joseph Adama walked into the picture. He started taking care of us and everything was OK for Laura and I. That was when we met Bill and Lee. Bill and Laura hit it off almost right away. They tried keeping it a secret for as long as possible, but I caught on very quickly. No one keeps secrets from me. The only person I can't figure out is Lee.

I was thinking about all of that as we were walking down Main Street, trying to get a good spot. Then the trumpets started blaring just as we reached the curb. We waited and waited. The marching, the drums, and then women began running into the street. The parade continued as the crying women hung on to their loved ones- lovers, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles. They became an addition to the spectacle and before I could say anything, Laura spotted Bill. Next to Lee. Both of them were looking for us.

"Bill," Laura whispered before she joined the others of our gender. She began crying and saying his name over and over again. She jumped into his arms before kissing him violently. They stayed like that for a while before running back to his spot in the parade. Soon enough the parade was going to end and I would be able to see Lee.

"Laura," I heard Bill say loudly. I guess they weren't back to his spot. He got down on one knee, stopping the whole parade. They were at the end anyways. It seemed like it was totally planned. He pulled out this huge ring. "Will you marry me?"

Cheers and hoots and hollers could be heard from miles away. Of course she said yes! She was in love, he was in love, and they would live the perfect life together. I ran up to her after he put the ring on her finger and hugged her. I was going to lose another sister, another person I loved. But at least not entirely. Lee gave Bill a hard pat on the back before giving him a hug. Everyone ran into the streets and the parade was over.

"Hey, Starbuck!" Bill said with his usual swagger. It was the call sign he gave me after finding out how much of a guy I could be. He said it would help me to fit in with at least one group of people. He based it off of the fact that I have a horrible addiction to Starbucks coffee.

"Hey Bill. Hey Lee! What's it like being back in New York?"

"Bit early to tell don't you think?" Lee being his normal hesitant self as usual…

"We'll see… We'll see…" Almost as soon as Laura finished saying that, she and Bill began kissing for a good five minutes. I'm not sure I'll be able to handle the wedding.


	3. Tears and a Car Ride

My mother refused to have any part with the wedding, despite being Laura's step-mother and practically raising her in her teenage years. She refused right out of the gate. She heard the news of the engagement and didn't even look up from her cup of coffee, undoubtedly laced with brandy. She was as stagnant as the brick that made up the building we lived in. Not budging at all.

"Congratulations, Laura. Don't make the same mistakes I did." That's all she said to her. Mistakes. Like marrying my father and having me after serving as a nurse in a war she didn't even believe in. Then remarrying and having your second husband and step children die in a car crash. Those aren't mistakes. There's no way she would have been able to predict those things. All I know is that Laura was thinking the same thing and pretty much ran upstairs to our room crying. I ran up after her, hearing the heartbroken sobs that poured out from her ever shrinking frame. With every breath, it seemed like she was getting smaller and smaller. Every sob just let more and more of her out of her body and into the world, only to disappear.

"Laura, Laura, shh…" I sat next to her on the bed and hugged like if everything in the world depended on just that hug. "Pay no attention to her. She's drunk and depressed and isn't thinking right."

She continued to sob. I didn't know why. I never knew why. I just let her be and did what I learned to do from years of crying over the loss of family and other things. Just guesses at the pain she felt. I laid her out onto the bed and took off the dress she was wearing. I put it over in the laundry pile and grabbed her night gown. I took off her undergarments and replaced them with clean ones. I helped her put on her nightgown. I went to the bathroom to wet a washcloth to wipe her face. She sat up from her lying position. She stopped sobbing, but she was still shuddering, a blank look on her face. As I wiped her face with the cold washcloth, she stayed still like a statue. I never cried. I told myself that she cried enough for the both of us and I guess it's true. I just don't know what she's crying about. She laid back into bed and I covered her with the blankets. Laura just stared at the floor, never saying a word. With shortened breaths, she shook. Her whole body was like the earth's aftershocks after a major earthquake. I left the room, shutting the door ever so quietly. I stood with my back against the door and slid down into a little ball at the foot of it. I just listened. To the beating of my heart, to the squeaks of the bed when Laura shifted ever so slightly.

"Hey. Hey Kara…" I heard a voice that sounded like Lee trying to wake me up. I was somehow in the back seat of a 1926 Chrysler Imperial E80. Yeah, I knew every car that was on the market. And I could tell which one was which just by looking at its interior. Plus, it was Lee trying to wake me up. His other brother Zac, who missed the draft, was driving.

"What… Why am I here?"

"Your sister called me early this morning. She said you needed a day away from the city," he said. He was holding me with one arm and the other was holding him from bouncing around too much. "Laura didn't look so hot when she came down with you. You were practically sleep walking. Is everything alright?"

I hesitated. There was only one other time when something similar to this had happened. And that was when the car crash happened. I didn't know what to do. So I stayed by the door while Laura cried. She was a sensitive person and I felt I needed to harden myself against the world and I did. But with Lee I feel different.

"Yeah. Yeah everything is fine. Laura's just needed a little alone time."

"Mmk… Wanna know where going?"

"Yeah. Sure."


	4. Simple Worries, Simple Fixes

_**AN: I am so sorry for all the late updates. I don't know why but I'm finding this story difficult to write but I am having fun writing it. I've also been hella busy so I don't have that much time either. But it's coming along. Enjoy! Don't forget to review!**_

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><p>Zac dropped us off at the shore of Manhasset Bay. It's out of the city between East Egg and West Egg. We were on the East Egg side of it. A few of Laura's friends lived there and they let me go over there pretty much whenever.<p>

The sky was clear like the water. No clouds in the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lee whispered, like he didn't want to disturb the peace of the ocean beating against the shore. There were some people on the other side of the bay playing in the water having a blast with life.

"It is beautiful." Before I knew it his lips were on mine taking me to an ecstasy I have never felt in my whole life. It was amazing, breath taking.

"Lee?" Someone called him breaking that kiss' perfection.

"Dee? What are you doing here?"

Who is Dee? Who is Dee? I kept asking myself that question as I walked into my friends' house looking for a phone. Lee and Dee (wow, how funny is it that they have rhyming names?) were arguing outside. I didn't know what was going on between the two but obviously I was intruding upon it. The butler called me a cab to take me home. They were still arguing on the beach when I left.

She looked familiar though. She was half black and half white and I'm assuming it was the white half of her that was keeping her looking so stylish. Don't get me wrong, I believe in equality for all no matter gender or race but in this world no one gets by if you are even a smidge black. Her daddy must've been extremely rich for her to be that way.

Anyways I got home around 6 in the evening and Laura was just leaving the house. She looked gorgeous as usual but something was different. This wasn't her usual beauty shining through. It was a sad and subtle beauty that not many would have been able to understand.

"Laura!" She stopped like she was afraid. I ran up next to her.

"Oh, hi Kara."

"Where are you going?"

"I needed some fresh air. Socrata's smoke was choking me."

"Do you want me to walk with you?" I paused leaving an awkward silence which hadn't existed since we first met. I started walking next to her as she started walking away from me. "Well I'm going to whether or not you want me to. It's a beautiful evening and it will probably one of the last we'll share together, since you won't be living with Mother and I after you get married."

She started sobbing right there on the side of the street. Laura never cried in public. Ever.

"K-Kara… Please. Go home," she choked out. "I don't want you to be here right now. I need to be alone."

"Laura, let me take you to Central Park. We can talk there, in our little hangout. Please, Laura." I begged. She did not need to be left alone. This was the worst time to be left alone. The stock market was crashing people were yelling in the streets. Men left their families in all sort of ways leaving us women alone to fend for ourselves. I wasn't going to let Laura fend for herself.

We walked to the middle of Central Park to this little spot between two great oak trees. We went there almost all the time but no one knew we were there. It was one of the best places to be in the world. She was barely able to make it in one piece. She was just so fragile, more fragile than a china doll.

"Laura… Can you please talk to me?"

"Kara. Kara, Kara. You know I love you like a sister, even though we aren't by blood. And you know that I don't want to leave you at home with your mother.-"

"Is that what this is about?"

"No. It's just," she hesitated and stuttered through her tears, "I wanted my dad to be here. And my sisters. But they're not and it hurts. I don't know who is going to walk me down the aisle! Or who is going to plan the wedding. Or Anything about it. My father was going to take care of all of that. He promised me he would."

"Laura, let me plan this wedding. Take your mind off of it. Let me do it. Let Mr. Adama walk you down the aisle. Just… Don't worry about this, ok? It's going to be the best day of your life. I promise you that."

"Really?"

"Really."


	5. It's Time to Go

_**AN: **_**I'm sooo sorry! I've been really bad haven't I...not updating this and all... I've been really stressed out lately and I have't had much time to write and do all that great and fancy stuff with characters. But I was writing this chapter every so often and now it is done and I'm working on the next chapter! Enjoy! AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW! **

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><p>The wedding came so much sooner than expected. I planned the whole thing, from the flowers to the cake to the tables to the food. Everything was done by me. Except for her dress. She wanted to pick it out for herself.<p>

To be honest, I hate weddings. But I wanted this to be my sister's special day. I didn't want anything to get in the way of that.

Mr. Adama walked her down the aisle. A couple girls we used to babysit were the flower girls. Lee was Bill's best man and I was Laura's Maid of Honor. It was a beautiful ceremony. I asked Elosha, Laura's favorite priestess, to perform the ceremony and she did. Laura was on the verge of tears. I had to let her go though because now she was going to be a woman. She wouldn't be living with my mother and me anymore. She would be living with Bill in an apartment in upstate New York. I couldn't live with her, even though she offered.

After I gave my speech, saying how wonderful of a sister Laura was and everything, I left the dining hall we were in to go check if everything was running on schedule. Mr. Adama rented a white Rolls Royce for them to take them to the train station for their honeymoon. Bill planned their honeymoon and wouldn't tell anyone where they were going. Both he and Laura could keep a secret locked up tighter than a noose around a hanged man.

Laura found me in the foyer and asked me if everything was alright.

"Yeah. Everything is just fine. Now go back in there and enjoy your night, okay?"

She left without a word but I could see a mix of happiness and confusion in her eyes.

I had no idea where the happy couple had gone. It had been at least 2 weeks since their wedding and still no word from Laura. She was no long Miss Roslin at school. She was now Mrs. Adama. I had to go to the school where she worked to tell them of the change since she was unable to. I hated this so much. I made her happy, why wasn't I?

Lee hadn't spoken to me since the incident. Even at the wedding he could barely look at me in the eye. The only time he did was just prior to the wedding to make sure everything was ready and set. He didn't ask how I was feeling but I think it's better that he didn't. If he had asked me I would have been so stressed out that my response would have been so sarcastic it would have made anyone not speak to me for weeks, if not months. I wanted to see him though and the more I wasn't around him the more and more I saw him in places he wasn't. I'd see a glimpse of him on the street corner, and I'd look again and he wouldn't be there. I'd go to a dance with a friend and I'd see him across the hall and he wouldn't be there. It was bizarre and it scared me. I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.

A few weeks ago I got an undecipherable telegram telling me to wire $10,000 to a bank account. I didn't know who it was from or why I had to do such a thing. But just sometime before that message, the stock market fell considerably and the President has said that we are going through the low part of a business cycle. I think it's a load of poop but people are in a massive panic. They think we are going through an economic depression.

_"Laura, we can't go back."_

_"Why not, Bill? Can't we at least get Kara and your two brothers?"_

_"No. It's too risky. The economy is going bad because of my father. He screwed the economy. He screwed us all."_

_"Can't you send a telegram to Lee or something? To let him know that we are ok? To go see Kara. To bring them here?"_

_"Not here. I know somewhere better. But you're right they do need to get here somehow. I'll send a message to Kara. Send one to Lee. Do not sign your name. No one can find us."_

_"Fine. I'll tell Lee to see Kara and soon."_

There was too much to handle at this point. I wasn't acting like other girls and I had no friends. They all wanted me gone and I would have gladly gone away, but I had no means of leaving. Until Lee came over. With Zac. And a trunk load of bags.

"Hurry. Grab a bag or two of your clothes and let's go," he whisper-yelled from the car downstairs. He had thrown rocks at my window at about 4 in the morning.

"Lee! It takes more than a few minutes to pack my stuff! You know that!"

"Oh gods. Put on some clothes and pack a bag while you're at it. I'll be up there in like 5 minutes." He was going to climb up the tree that was outside my window. It was so skinny I was afraid it was going to break while he was on it. I threw on my pant suit and riding boots and packed my thinner dresses in the small bag that was once Laura's. Lee climbed through the window just as I zipped up the bag.

"Ok, Lee, what in the name of the gods is going on?"

"I don't know but we need to leave as soon as possible."

We finished cleaning out my closet and dresser and Laura's too somehow, fitting all the clothes into 3 large suitcases plus a smaller bag full of undergarments, gloves, and scarves. Laura took so much of her clothes that it wasn't too bad. I grabbed our jewelry boxes and squeezed them into the bag as well. Jewelry was important to Laura. I'm surprised she didn't take more of it on her honeymoon.

I got the impression that we were leaving and not coming back seeing as how worried Lee looked and how quickly he was packing up my clothes. I kept trying to get him to tell me what was going on, but all he did was shake his head and continue folding clothes only to shove them into the bags. To get the bags down from my second story room, we used all of my sheets as a rope and used the highest branch of the tree as a pulley so I could lower the bags down to Lee so he could shove them into Zac's car. The branch was about to break when we were done using it so I didn't step on it when I climbed down tree. Socrata won't even notice that I left, but I still left a note for her. She is my mother after all.

I climbed into the cramped back seat of the car curled into a fetal position because that was the only way I'd fit. I asked Zac for an explanation as to what was going one, but he gave me the same response that Lee gave me. Silence with a head shake.

I wonder what's going on. Does it have anything to do with the money I wired to another bank account? Will I see Bill again? Or Laura? Where are we going?


End file.
